A guardian assassin
by IamMe2525
Summary: FFX main-story based. What happens when an assassin, previously assaulted by Sin before the game starts, joins Tidus and the gang? Likely going to be eventual OC x Tidus x Yuna x Rikku fourway. M for language, violence, sex/slight incest. Part 1 in a multi-fic series.
1. Prologue - Zanarkand

Hey guys. Short version, I got bored writing _Forever Changed: Kingdom Hearts and Naruto_, so an old friend of mine bugged me to write an M rated story of FFX, and someone else added that it be M for the following: violence, sex, language. I figure it'd be fun, so I agreed. First M rated novel, so please feel free to drop a review/PM to let me know how I did. **Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy** **X, or the other references made in this fic. I'm only doing one** **disclaimer.** (A/N: I'm going to try and follow the main FFX storyline. _Slanted text means my OC's thoughts._ "_Slanted text in quotes like this is Tidus' "flashback voice"_.")

* * *

Sin destroyed my home world.

I watched it happen, and couldn't do anything about it. When I found myself in a strange city, all lit up at night, I was confused. As a child, I was a hardcore Final Fantasy addict, to the point where I memorized everything in Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, as well as Final Fantasy X, etc. As such, anyone could imagine my shock when I wound up in Zanarkand, seemingly so long ago.

Just before my home world was attacked, I was 22 years of age, and an assassin for the previous 4 years. So long as my client wasn't against my morals, and the pay was good, I would accept nearly any job.

I looked up at the circle of friends surrounding the campfire. Rikku, Lulu, Kimahri, Wakka, and Auron: five of Yuna's guardians. I looked at the summoner's mismatched eyes and followed her gaze, my own eyes finding the final guardian, standing on a small hill of rubble. Having memorized the game, I could practically hear Tidus' flashback voice: "_Listen to my story. This may be our last chance._" As I recalled those words, my own mind went through the entire journey we've had together, starting with a game of Blitzball in Zanarkand from 1000 years ago.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

I sat in the audience of the completely filled up arena, waiting for the game of Blitzball to begin: the Abes vs. the Duggles. I didn't want to think of my dreaded past; how _I_, an _assassin_, stood by helplessly as my world was devoured by an enormous monster, surrounded by an even larger dome of water. Just as my world was devoured, I thought I would follow, but was dumped here, in Zanarkand.

_Stop it. You're going _there_ again._ I had to remind myself to avoid thinking of the tragedy, at least while the game was going on. _Just stay calm._

Hopefully, I would be able to use the game as a distraction. Fortunately, the commentator of the game interrupted my thoughts.

"I was in a coffee shop, running away from home when I heard the news," the commentator said. I jumped. _Oh shit. PLEASE don't let this be _that_ game! I'm not ready for another world jump!_ Personally, I think there's very little more frightening than a mentally disturbed (or paranoid) assassin.

"Our hero, Jecht, gone. Vanished into thin air!" The commentator continued. "Heh, my dad must have been his biggest fan. I knew how sad he'd be. Heck, we all were that day. 'Zanar', I says to myself, 'What are you thinking'?" I scoffed mentally for his poor grammar, then began to feel a _lot_ of remorse.

I knew none of it was mine. Ever since I was born, I had a special talent: I could sense the emotions of anyone nearby clearer than I could read words in a book. If the feelings ran deep enough in the person, or if I was in a crowd (like now) sometimes I'd have trouble telling if these feelings were mine or not. Furthermore, if I was particularly close to someone emotionally, like a sibling, parent, or best friend, I could even hear their thoughts once in a while. When I was 6, my mother explained to me that this is my greatest secret, and no one can ever know. She told me that this... Gift... Is passed down through each generation, like a bloodline, from parent to _second_ born.

Personally, I've only found it a burden, though it does have its benefits, especially as an assassin. To this day, I've never told a soul what I can do. I've also housed one other secret, that hopefully no one will discover any time soon: I'm bi. That's right, I'm into both males and females.

Anyway, over the years, I've learned to control my 'talent', able to put up mental barriers to stop myself from sensing other people's feelings. Although sometimes extreme emotions still slip through my barriers, like now.

"I went running straight back home. We sat up talking 'bout Jecht all night," Zanar continued. _Jesus fucking Christ, I came here to watch Blitzball, not listen to you ramble about that bastard!_

"My dad and I never talked so much. Whoa... Didn't mean to reminisce, folks. Anyway... Ten years later, the Jecht Memorial Cup tournament is today!"

"Finally..." I breathed. Normally I was much more patient than this, but between... Recent events and what I now knew was getting ready to happen... Well, I was on edge, to say the least...

"The two teams that have won through to the finals are of course, the Abes from A-East, and the Duggles from C-South. I know there's a lot of people out there today to see the star of the Abes! In just one year, he's become the team's number one player! He's Jecht's blood, and the new hope of Blitzball! What kind of super play will he show us today?"

_Nothing super..._ I stood up, unable to stay any longer. "Pardon me," I said, walking through the crowd before, as I knew, all hell would break loose. "Excuse me, coming through."

Between my rush to get to a good waiting spot quickly, and my gift filling me with feelings of both intensity of anxiousness, starting to break my barriers (see why I don't do so well in crowds?) I knew I had to leave quickly.

_God damn, finally! _I found myself thinking as I reached the exit. I looked up and saw a man with a red coat, with his left arm sticking out of the coat's headpiece, rather than the arm hole. He was holding a white canister, almost as if offering it to a growing... Tidal wave?

_Oh, shiiiiiiit..._ I saw small fireballs shoot out of the wave, toward the city and the stadium, which I ran back to, but stayed outside. I found a small pile of rubble to lean against as I gulped in fear. I saw the same man from a moment ago, leaning his back against more rubble right next to me, like he's waiting for something. I could now see that he wore black glasses. He also had a scar over his right eye.

"Hello, Auron," I said. He looked at me with an expression even I couldn't read as he responded, "And you are?"

"Jack," I said. "I know that, like me, you aren't from Zanarkand."

His lips parted slightly, and now I could feel the slightest amount of shock from him. He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

I looked to the bridge I just returned from, and saw a monster, slowly floating toward the stadium. I shook my head as I pointed to it. "No time to explain; we've got company."

"Auron! Jack!" I heard a voice behind me even as I sensed his presence. I turned and saw the same 'star player' that Zanar talked about. "What are you doing here?" The boy asked.

"Waiting for you," Auron replied, walking toward the bridge and monster.

"What are you talking about?" The Blitzball player demanded. I shook my head. "Tidus," I started. "Things are... About to change forever..." I gulped at my own words, privately wishing they could be proven false. Tidus shot me a look that just screamed confusion. I pointed to where Auron was walking. "I don't know how to explain it, but he may be our only hope." I looked at Tidus and forced a sad smile, trying very hard _not_ to think about how cute he was, with his shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes...

_Wait, what was I about to say? Damn it! Oh yeah._ "And I'll stand by and help as much as I can, too." I hoped that didn't sound weird to him, but he shrugged. We ran after Auron.

We made it to the bridge, and Tidus started looking around, randomly confused. Through my childhood addiction to a certain video game, I knew that time momentarily froze around him. "What the...?" He said, then looked at me, then Auron. "Hey! Wait!"

When we caught up with him, Tidus stepped in front of him to get his attention. "Hey, not this way!" Tidus placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath, which made me chuckle. Clearly, being able to hold your breath for 5-10 minutes at a time, while playing a contact sport like Blitzball, doesn't make you good at running for more than a few seconds at a time before you're out of breath. _Right... Fuck logic._

Auron looked past Tidus. "Look."

We followed his gaze, which met a giant sphere of water, likely a mile in diameter, making Tidus gasp. My hand closed into a tight fist, and my jaw clenched.

"We called it 'Sin'." Auron said. I closed my eyes tightly for a second, pulling my assassin's bandanna to cover my mouth and nose. _Sin... The monster that destroyed my home world. I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything to stop him, or even slow him down. Volke... My big brother, I'm so sorry._

"Sin?" Tidus repeated, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts like fish on a hook.

"Yes. Sin... The destroyer of worlds." I whispered, my words for the blonde's ears alone. He stiffened quickly. My eyes opened, full of vengeance; both mine and Auron's. We looked to a large tower, where a huge tentacle-like _thing _sprouted, human-sized shells flying from it toward the bridge we now stood on.

_Sinspawn..._ I pulled two daggers out of a pouch I always kept attached to the back of my waist, one weapon in each hand.

As the shells landed on the bridge, they sprouted into giant, dark blue-green moth-like creatures. Four of them crowded each of us. The last thing I saw was Tidus trying to swat his group away before my attention was pulled to the freaks that now crowded me.

I didn't bother waiting for these things to make the first move, which was unusual for me. I ran and slashed my left dagger into the first creature, getting sprayed with a green liquid, presumably its blood, as a result. I closed my eyes to stop the blood from blinding me, but that's when another creature stabbed me with a pincer in my right arm. Grunting in pain, I jumped back, my own blood flowing freely from my arm for the first time in years as I threw my knife into the 'face' of the creature that stabbed me.

As I covered my wound to slow down the bleeding, I shook my head. _That shouldn't have happened!_ Even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew what make me reckless: anger and fear, slipping from both Auron and Tidus into me, mixed with my own rage. I gritted my teeth and ran to catch up with my two companions, ripping my dagger out of the creature as I passed it.

I cut through two more of the shell-things that were behind Tidus and Auron, my body now stained from head to toe with emerald green blood. I saw both of them now wielding swords almost as long as I am tall. Auron's was primarily black with a golden symbol on the start of the blade, the cutting edge silver. Tidus' was mainly red, with a curve and silver edge.

Auron gave us the instruction to focus on running, and cutting just the ones in the way. Tidus and I nodded, our expressions matching (despite mine being covered) in determination. As we cut our way through five more, we ran past like there was no tomorrow. I risked a glance back to see 3 more shells, digging into the ground... Exactly where we just stood.

As we reached a small hill that was simply a broken piece of the bridge, we stopped for only a second before continuing over it. We faced a group of no less than 7 of the creatures from earlier, as well as a tentacle identical to the one still sprouting out of the tower.

"Damn it, move!" I shouted.

"Get out of my town!" Tidus yelled.

"Some can't wait to die!" Auron added before jumping fairly high. As he landed, he stabbed his sword into the ground, the force of impact creating a massive shock wave that shattered the shell creatures.

Perhaps not wanting to be out done, the blonde ran towards the giant tentacle, doing a cartwheel and an acrobatic flip as he brought his own blade crashing down into it.

"My turn," I said, dashing towards it, my arms crossed, daggers held backhand. As I approached it, I stabbed both my weapons into it, running around it until i was 'behind' it. When I reached the other side, I jumped, slashing through it as I returned to my companions. I turned back to the tentacle as we all ran toward it and cleaved our way through it. As we did so, we were splattered from head to toe (me more than the others) with glowing blue blood.

We continued running across the seemingly endless bridge for about 15 seconds longer before we stopped to catch our breath. Tidus turned to me. "I've never seen you in a fight before, so your style is... Unique."

I smirked and looked at them, planning my words carefully. "You mean my bandanna? Or my weapons? Damn, don't you know an assassin when you see one?"

My response made both of them stare at me, mutual shock plain on both of their faces... Shock that I was barely able to block out and stop from becoming my own.

"An assassin...?" Tidus asked slowly. I nodded, then blinked, realizing why I felt fear trickling into the blonde.

"Relax," I said, holding up my hand and smiling. "I swear upon my life that neither of you will ever be on my hit list." I made a movement that had multiple meanings. I stepped back slightly with my right foot, my arms stretching out to either side. I then stepped together, bringing my hands nearly together, palms facing each other, one on top of the other, yet not touching. I bowed slightly.

Tidus knew my movement as a Blitzball sign for victory. Auron knew it as a prayer, a sign of greeting, respect and honesty. Again, it was through my childhood gaming that made me know this so well.

Auron made a "Hmph" sound and walked forward a little more, while Tidus turned to a building with a projection of a man with a smug smirk, red headband, and arms folded in front of him, making him look both amused and disappointed.

"What are you laughing at, old man?" Tidus muttered at the projection of Jecht before turning back to the other man. "Auron, let's get out of here!"

Without so much as acknowledging the blonde boy's words, Auron replies, "We're expected."

I never could figure out what he meant. "Uh, what are you talking about? Hey, Auron!" I shouted when he just ran off without a word.

"Gimme a break man!" Tidus and I responded simultaneously. I hung my head, knowing what was about to happen. We ran after him, then stopped in front of an oil tank surrounded by countless more shell-creatures.

"Hmph, this could be bad," Auron muttered.

"Naw, really?" I whispered sarcastically. Somehow, he heard that. "Shut it." He looked around, his eyes falling upon the oil tank. "That - knock it down!"

"What?!" Tidus yelped; he knew that would mean destroying a large portion of Zanarkand. Because of that, I felt a little more fear from him, and even a hint of hesitation from Auron.

"Trust me. You'll see." Auron responded. I gulped: my knives wouldn't be much help for that, and I wasn't that strong either; at least compared to the other two.

"Damn it, do it Tidus!" I shouted, my eyes closed to help me both yell and focus. "I'll keep you guys covered, but just do it!" I felt more hesitation and fear from Tidus, well compelled me to add, "You want things to ever be able to return to normal?! I told you earlier, didn't I? Things are about to change! Trust me!"

He nodded, the fear and hesitation not gone, but bottled up. My jaw clenched under my bandanna. I lifted my already blood-soaked daggers with sore arms, and stood between the monsters and my companions, who were going to work on the oil tank.

"You won't get passed me, fuckers," I whispered.

For the next minute and a half I stood, stabbing and cutting the creatures without so much as slowing down. One of them finally got smart; it fell back and fired a barrage of needles from its wings. I blocked the three lethal ones that would've otherwise penetrated my heart and throat with my daggers, while the rest of them entered my arms. I hissed in pain as the needles sank further into my flesh, and almost stopped moving from the pain when they touched my bone.

I knew I had enough vitality for one more move, and had to make it count. Sticky and heavy from the blood that I was now covered it, and tired from my efforts, I managed to jump onto the back of one of the creatures, jabbing my daggers into whatever passed for its brain. Immediately, it started to spasm, then ran like crazy into its kin. Indeed, the only thing that kept me on it was my death grip on my daggers. _Screw horse riding, shit just got real!_

Another 30 seconds in which I was able to steer the creature in the directions I wanted to go, and the two swordsmen finally knocked the oil tank off the bridge, causing a massive explosion when it reached the ground. The largest building in Zanarkand fell forwards... Toward us.

I yanked Tidus onto the creature I was still riding before wrenching my daggers to the right, causing it (and us) to run out from underneath the incoming building, which we narrowly avoided being crushed by. He got off the creature, nodded his thanks, then looked around for Auron. I stayed on the creature and started pulling the needles out of my arms, which were going numb from the pain and exertion. Each one pained me even further, my flesh protesting every movement I made, and I briefly wondered if I popped a blood vessel or severed a vein. I looked to my left, and I saw Tidus and Auron running toward a cliff. The jumped, Auron landing on the surface; Tidus clinging for dear life on the bridge.

_Oh fuck no! I better not get left behind!_

Still able to control the creature, I rode it swiftly toward the cliff, jumping off as I reached it, barely landing next to Auron.

Completely derived of energy, I collapsed on my back, and saw something to shock me. I've seen it before, but only once this close. A tan... Thing floated above us, wrinkled from age, I figured, with a circle of orange light pulling us in. I vaguely heard Auron's voice. "You are sure?"

I looked over, still struggling to catch my breath, and saw Auron reach down and pick Tidus up by the scruff of his neck. "This is it," the scarred swordsman told the blonde. "This is your story... It all begins here." I could no longer see him as the light engulfed all three of us, yet I heard Tidus scream.

My last waking thought was, _I hope Tidus will be okay..._

* * *

So what do you think? This is going to have romance in it eventually, but I'm leaving it up to you guys for now, who 'I' should be with: Tidus, Rikku, or Yuna, or any combination thereof? Example: me/Tidus, Tidus/Yuna, me/Rikku. Drop a review with your opinion and who you want me with. Oh, almost forgot: can anyone guess where the OC is from/where 'Volke' is from? _Without_ googling, etc.  
Hint/warning: next chapter will have a little sex in it. I'll leave a warning so you may skip it if you so desire.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Ship

Hello, people! Chapter time! As I've only received one review, I'll go with that idea for the pairings, at least until further notice. OC x Rikku, Tidus x Yuna, and eventual one-sided OC x Tidus. This chapter will also introduce the Al Bhed language, with translations at the bottom. It'll go something like this:  
**  
**"{Al Bhed quote}"[0]  
(at the bottom, in the translation section) [0] "{translated quote}"

Hopefully it'll make more sense as you read it for yourself. Oh, and a warning: more language, and two dreams: one sex/slight incest, one murder. If it offends/disturbs you, you can skip when you get to it, though you'd probably miss a bit of background story info, including where the OC is originally from (and through him, Volke).

* * *

When I woke up, my first instinct was to check the injuries on my arms. The wounds from before were gone, like they were never there. I was always a fast healer... I think... So it didn't surprise me too much.

That's when I noticed my surroundings. I was looking up at the night time sky, laying on a metallic boat.

I stood up. _Zanarkand. What happened to Zanarkand?!_ As I remembered Sin destroying the city, I found many gaping holes in my memory; I could remember _very_ little from before I was in Zanarakand. That shocked me: I had a near photographic memory! There's no way I could forget -

"Rao! Ra ec yfygi!"[1] A voice behind me interrupted my thoughts as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and turned around quickly, reaching for..._ My weapons pouch! No! Where is it?!_

"Cu zisbo... Y vaeht?"[2] The same voice said. I saw three people, two males, one female. The males wore identical suits: a blue vest, a yellow gas mask, and blue pants. The female wore a red face mask, a yellow suit with red shoulder pads, green straps around her chest, and a green belt.

My response left my lips before I had any idea what I was saying. "Ev E fene y vaeht, nuf fuimy E ghuf ouin myhkiyka?"[3]

The Al Bhed trio jumped at my words. Clearly, they didn't expect me to know their language, let alone speak it. _Wait, how do I know they're Al Bhed? I don't even know what an Al Bhed is... Argh! Why can't I remember?!_ Coming from a perfect memory, to remembering next to nothing about the last 22 years drove me crazy, though I kept it all hidden, restricted to my thoughts. I tilted my head to the side, deciding to follow my instinct... Maybe it was a subconscious memory; one that I couldn't call to the surface, but was still there? "Oui yna Rikku?"[4] I asked.

Her lips parted slightly. I lowered my mental barriers (thankful that I remembered my gift, at least) and felt more mutual shock than I previously believed on all three of them. "Ruf... Ruf tu oiu ghuf?"[5] She asked.

I shrugged. "Muhk cduno, hud dryd E nasaspan ymm uv ed. E fyc yddylgat po Sin."[6]

The three stepped back. A moment of silence, which Rikku broke. "Cu, fryd tu oui fyd?"[7]

I sighed, talking in a more familiar language. "To talk privately to you. I know that you know this tongue, Rikku."

Slowly, hesitantly, she nodded, then turned to the others, shock and slight concern coming from her. "Bnejyde dymg. E'mm pa veha, namyq."[8] The other two muttered a little, then reluctantly left.

Rikku turned back to me. "So you're not Al Bhed, yet you know our language. How?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Sin's toxin got to me, I suppose. All I can remember is the last day that I was awake, and little flakes here and there of my childhood..." _And what I do for a living..._ I noticed my bandanna was off, and that the green blood was no longer covering me... Wow, I am slow to realize these things sometimes. "Hey, how long was I unconscious?"

"Two days, since we found you. We washed the green goo off of you and removed your pouch, just to be on the safe side." She replied. I nodded.

"I understand. But that 'goo' was the blood of a sinspawn." _Wait, a what? God, I wish my mouth wasn't on auto-pilot... Not that way, pervert!_ I scolded myself, for almost letting my thoughts go there. _It's almost like my mouth is doing all of my remembering... I swear, if this gets me in trouble with anyone... Wait, where the hell am I, anyway? All of this seems familiar... But it's not Zanarkand, and not my... My home world..._

She gasped lightly. "Where are you from? Do you remember?"

_I was just thinking about that! Is she able to read my thoughts? Daaaaamn..._ I nodded. "Only a little. I remember that I had a big brother named Volke. But whenever I try to think of my homeland now, my mind comes up almost blank. All I can remember is a large tower, and one word: Tellius."

"I see..." I knew I could trust Rikku, though I still don't know how, or why, I knew these things... All I could do is trust my instinct, but I continued. "Like my brother, I'm an assassin. But Sin destroyed Tellius, and sent me to Zanarkand. Two days later, Sin attacked again. Next thing I know, I'm waking up here and can't remember a damn thing."

"An assassin? Zanarkand? Impossible..."

"How's it impossible?" I stood up and walked in circles to stretch my legs. Two days without moving isn't good my an assassin.

"Zanarkand was destroyed 1000 years ago, that's why! Anyone in Spira would know that." Rikku said matter-of-factly. I stopped pacing and my eyes opened wide. _I've heard that before... Wait, that means... Am I starting to remember?_ "Then Sin made me jump through time... Again." My hand curled into a tight fist. "Damnit!"

"What is it?" She asked. I looked at her eyes, her green, swirly pupils. The sign of an Al Bhed. _I am starting to remember! Rikku, her cousin Yuna, Spira, Auron and Tidus... Yevon... Argh! Only single words! Not a phrase, nor speech, nothing! Just a couple names!_ "A friend of mine was seperated from me during the attack on Zanarkand. I think I know where he is."

"Ruf... Sorry, how?" She replied, translating herself from Al Bhed to English.

_Should I tell her? No... I can't. Not yet. And not about my gift._ "I can sense him." Was all I said.

"Where?" _Jeez, queen of one word answers? What was that place called?_ I shook my head. "I'm trying to remember the place's name. I know it starts with a 'B'... Blake? No. Barley? No..."

"Baaj Temple, the one underwater?" Rikku answered for me.

"Yeah, that's it!" I smiled.

"We'll set a course immediately. Wait..." She started to walk away, but turned to face me again. "You're not an Al Bhed hater, are you?"

I laughed. "Rikku, if I was, we wouldn't be chatting like this. Either I would've killed you all, or died trying. Also, if I was, how would I know your language?"

She smiled back. "Fair enough. But didn't you say you can't remember your past? How do we know you didn't learn our language so you could sabotage us?"

I shook my head again. "I'm remembering some things. I remember that I'm absolutely not a Yevon follower, but that I also don't agree with many things the Al Bhed do. That doesn't make me an enemy," I added quickly. She shrugged and walked into the ship's hull, and returned only a few seconds later. I bowed my head and smiled, showing gratitude and respect. "Thank you so much, Rikku."

She smiled again. "No problem. What does you're friend look like?"

"He has a shaggy blonde head, blue eyes, yellow shoes, and a mainly yellow shirt. Oh, and mismatched pants, one pant leg longer than the other." I responded happily.

She nodded. "Got it."

The rest of the trip was fairly silent. Once we arrived, only a few minutes later, the the underwater ruins, Rikku and three other Al Bhed jumped in. I hesitated: I wasn't much of a swimmer. Granted, I was good at swimming, but had a heavy preference about _not_ swimming if I have a choice. Still... If it means helping Tidus, then...

"Leave it to us," Rikku said. "We'll find him!"

I didn't like getting blown off like that, but smiled anyway. "Thanks. His name is Tidus." She nodded, and the group swam away. _Why was it that I disliked swimming? God damn it, Sin!_ I decided that it would be a good time to take a nap while I waited for my new friend to come back. After all, it's not like the other Al Bhed still aboard the ship (_are there any more on here? I would imagine; the ship is huge!_) would be as kind as Rikku was. Besides, I was a light sleeper, and trusted that Rikku and Tidus, should they return, would wake me up when they returned.

With that, I lied down, closed my eyes, and quickly drifted to sleep. What happened next would alter my reality.

{**What's coming next is two dreams, one of which is foursome sex, one is murder. If either/both is two much for you, skip whichever, down to the next brackets saying it's done. You have been warned.**}

_I was in a hallway in some random hotel, just outside a room. I heard strange sounds, like moaning and gasping. There were three different voices, two female and one male. Three names were all but being shouted: Yuna, Rikku, Tidus. Right away, I knew I should've left these three to their... Private moment, but who acts rational in a dream? Instead, I pressed my ear to the door, leaning further, and further..._

_The door opened, and I fell into the room._

_The moaning stopped, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Tidus was fucking a girl whom I knew was named Yuna in the front, while Rikku fucked her in the rear, with a toy strapped on._

_I felt he blood rushing to my cheeks as my hand shot up to cover my mouth._

_"Well hello to you too, handsome." Yuna giggled, looking slightly drunk, though I couldn't see any beverages around._

_"What the... Sorry, I just tripped. I was just leaving..." I muttered, getting up and turning to leave. Tidus smirked. "You know, if you wanted in, you could have just asked." I blinked twice, trying very hard to ignore the growing tent in my pants. I looked back at them, mostly at the Al Bhed. "But... Rikku, you... She..." I couldn't even think of what I was trying to say. I was too busy looking - staring - at the scene in front of me._

_Tidus shrugged, placed his hands on Yuna's thighs, and resumed thrusting into her, who screamed his name. Rikku flashed me a seductive smile and grabbed Yuna's breasts from behind while fucking her in the ass with her toy. That shattered my barriers. I stripped and walked over to Tidus, kissing his neck while stroking his length deeper into Yuna. My other hand reached behind Yuna and grabbed Rikku's breasts, feeling both her creamy skin and Tidus' fair, almost slightly rough flesh._

_"Ah... Fuck..." Tidus and Rikku moaned together. I get behind Tidus and positioned my throbbing member into his rear, then pushed in. Tidus bit his lip almost hard enough to draw blood as he screamed my name, as Yuna screamed his own. I continued caressing Rikku's breasts until she took my hand off of them and put it behind her. Knowing what she wanted, I started fingering her ass as I thrusted into Tidus harder, making him thrust into Yuna even harder. They all screamed, the pure pleasure from all of them filling me to the brim. I wondered for a second if I was becoming high on their feelings. I took my hand off Tidus' member and placed it on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, which sped up with every movement we made._

_I stopped fucking Tidus, walked over to Yuna and kissed her on the lips. She and Rikku (when did she get out of Yuna?) stroked my member quickly together. I gasped as I felt myself about to explode. I placed my mouth on Yuna's breast and flicked her nipple with my tongue, while reaching over and fingering Rikku. The Al Bhed gasped louder than I did._

_"Jack! I'm gonna...!"_

_The dream shifted._

_{**End of the sex dream, onto the murder. Skip if you don't like this. Again, you have been warned.**}_

_I didn't remember anything about what I was just doing in my previous dream, only what was going on in front of me._

_My home world of Tellius was being destroyed again. As I took in the scene in front of me, my lungs forgot how to work for a moment. Houses and buildings were destroyed. Some were completely blown up, while others lost chunks of their roofs or walls or doors. When my lungs remembered how to work again, I looked around, to see if there were any survivors. I saw a slight movement, and ran toward it._

_I saw a man with a green headband, blue hair, a large golden sword, and a blue shoulder pad. His nearly bursting-at-the-seams biceps were cut and bleeding very heavily, his life fluid cascading down his arm like a waterfall (bloodfall?) as he looked at me with weak eyes. "Jack... Help... Your brother, he..." He coughed up blood and closed his eyes._

_My own eyes opened wider than ever before, until I thought they would pop out of my skull, tears running down my face. I shook his shoulder. "NO! You can't die! You're the great Ike, the hero of Tellius, the two-time savior of Crimea! What will anyone do without you?!"_

_No response from the swordsman. I continued shaking him, _refusing _to believe that he's dead. Still no response._

_I felt so much pain, sorrow, betrayal, threatening to overwhelm me. Not just from the surrounding people, living or dead, but even the buildings around me... Or at least what's left of them. There was so much, I had to raise my mental barriers stronger than I ever have to prevent myself from going insane. _NO! He can't be dead! Ike... If he's gone, then that means... His mercenary group! What about them?! _I looked to my right and saw them: seven of them, all either dead or injured. I dashed over to them, praying that I wasn't too late._

_When I arrived, I found them all bleeding like there was no end. The second-in-command, a red haired knight, was bleeding from her skull, to the point where I couldn't distinguish between her injury and her deep red hair. When I tried to talk, only one responded, albeit extremely weak._

_"Jack... Please don't be like... Him..." The response came from a boy with abnormally bright green hair and equally green eyes. His shirt, normally a sky blue, was now soaked red, too much to be his own. I closed my eyes, unable to take the sight anymore, the tears flowing even more. _Not even the two children survived...

_"Rolf! What happened? Who did this?!" I shouted, opening my eyes. He coughed up blood, too, and held his bow up to me, his small hand trembling. I clasped his hand, not his bow, as he whispered, barely alive. "Please... Take this. Take my bow... Remember us..."_

_I shook my head. I couldn't believe this was happening. "Where's Volke?" I whispered._

_He laughed cruelly, painfully, then coughed up more blood. "He did this..."_

_Time nearly stopped after that. My lip trembled. There's no way! Before I could ask, his hands fell, his eyes dimmed. I knew he was dead, though I couldn't believe it. _No... Not them!

_"_VOLKE_!" The name was ripped from my throat as I grabbed Rolf's bow, the one he personally hand-crafted to commemorate the group's most recent victory, now stained with his blood. I slung it over my back, and flipped the boy over, unable to look at his pained expression any longer. What I saw on his back nearly made me sick._

_Correction: it _did_ make me sick._

_His back was stained so bad with blood. And not just his own, either. Someone - presumably Volke - tried to eliminate someone else first, but Rolf jumped in the way, I supposed. His back had a throwing knife sticking out of it. Not just any knife, either. A brown knife, as brown as my big brother's hair and eyes, with a curve, sort of like a scimitar. It was Volke's favorite weapon, to the point where he even gave it a name: the Peshkatz. I looked at the person Rolf tried to protect. I saw orange hair, similar to mine, and an equally orange shirt with a white skirt. Even with the blood staining her skirt, face, and hands, I knew who she was without a second thought: Ike's little sister, Mist._

_I couldn't stay here any longer. I took one thing that was important to each of them and placed it in a bag that the mercenary company's mage had specifically modified, so it could hold anything, no matter how much, or how big. I ended up placing two bows into the bag: the one Rolf gave me, and one made by his teacher, the master Shinon. I ended up taking a shield from their human wall, Gatrie, a healing staff from one of their healers, Rhys, a white slim sword made specially for Mist that she named Florete. I also took a simple sword of steel from a purple haired swordswoman, Mia, an axe from Titania and a dark green haired boy: Rolf's brother Boyd, a spear from his other brother Oscar, and finally, a powerful spellbook of wind from the same mage that modified this bag, Soren. I bowed and took a moment of silence, before returning to Ike to pick up his golden sword Ragnell, which was personally enchanted multiple times by the world's Goddesses, Ashera and Yune._

_I ran with naked loathing in my eyes, for the first time, aimed at my big brother. The same big brother I've looked up to since I was born, 20 years ago._

_Running through, I saw two more of my close friends: a rookie swordsman, Edward, and a rookie archer, Leonardo. Edward had a dagger in his heart, and another in his throat. Leonardo had two throwing knives in him: one in each eye-socket. Weeping a little more, I decided to give them the same treatment I gave the others: I placed a sword and bow from them and placed them in the bag. The sword was golden, but shorter than Ike's Ragnell; the prized sword of his city of Daein, Caladbolg. The bow was also a prized possession of Daein, this one was a more dull shade of gold, but a longbow, Lughnasadh._

_I ran a little more until I was right behind my big brother. Normally a careful, stealthy assassin, I couldn't care less. A few things caught my attention through my crying eyes. First I saw another of Volke's trademark daggers: a pitch blade blade with a bronze handle, one he called Baselard. Second, he was holding an aged, bronze-blue medallion, known by two names: Lehran's Medallion, and the Fire Emblem._

_Seeing that made sense as to why he slaughtered everyone so easily, quickly, and mercilessly; merely touching that medallion makes a person go mad, it magnifies all violent and negative emotions until you become a mindless killing machine. And he was holding it like a protective mother would hold her baby._

_But the thing that drew my attention the most was where he was looking: straight up, at a brown, wrinkled, old, _ENORMOUS_, thing that looked like a... Flying whale? Well not exactly, but that was as close as it gets._

_Just as I arrived and saw the... Whatever it was, Volke turned around and glared at me with eyes that were blood red instead of chocolate brown. My eyes squinted, my vision becoming blurry from my tears, and I charged at Volke, dagger at the ready, trying to knock the medallion out of his hand. Again, his name was ripped from my throat. "_VOLKE_!"_

_He vanished._

_I blinked twice and opened my eyes wide in shock. I barely sensed him behind me, but was too slow to react as I felt his Baselard enter my back. I cried in pain as I managed one question: "Why...?"_

_I heard him smirk behind me. "Because, you have the _gift_. And I did it to draw out your true disposition, you hopeless little ginger-bitch." His voice was icy, and slightly deeper than normal. For the first time ever, I was scared._

{**Dreams over. (sorry that one took so long)**}

My eyes opened, my body darted to a sitting position. I was gasping for breath, but relaxed slightly when I reached behind me and felt only my jacket, not a dagger in my spine. I jumped out of my sweaty skin when I heard a male voice behind me. "You okay?"

I nodded slowly, still gasping and gulping. "Y... Yeah... Just a bad dream."

"What was it?" Tidus asked. I shook my head. "My home world being massacred again, this time by my big brother."

I sensed Tidus and Rikku's shock without looking at them. _I can't tell them about... The other dream._

"Then explain the erection a few minutes ago," Rikku said.

_God damn it!_ A string of curses flooded my brain as I thought of an excuse, but ended up telling the truth. Most of it, anyway. "It's just that, before that, I dreamed that I was watching a... Threesome." I blushed lightly at my own words.

The two behind me giggled immaturely. "Who?" Tidus asked.

I felt my blush go a _deep_ red. _Uh, you, Rikku, and her cousin._ Hell, no I wasn't about to say that! Instead, I just shook my head and stayed silent, earning a sigh from Rikku... Dear god, was that disappointment in that sigh?!

"Anyway..." I said, trying to change the subject, "anything special we need to know?"

"Apparently, Zanarkand was destroyed 1000 years ago," Tidus said bitterly. I blinked. "How long was I asleep?"

"About 20 minutes since we got back," Rikku said. "Guys, don't tell anyone you're from Zanarkand, okay? Yevon says it's a holy place. You might upset someone important."

"Vilg Yevon!" I found myself shouting before I could stop myself. "Dra Al Bhed yna nekrd yquid Yevon, E drehg..."[9]

"What?" Tidus asked. Fortunately, my outburst was in Al Bhed, so he didn't understand, but Rikku looked at me with disbelief and respect. But I couldn't let _him_ know what I just said. "Nothing important. Rikku, anything else?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the strangest noise I ever heard; sounding like a tiger growl combined with a lion's roar. I looked at Tidus, shocked, my eyes the size of dinner plates. "What the _fuck_ was that?!"

Tidus grimaced. "My stomach..."

Rikku's mouth hung open. I clapped my palm to my forehead. "I'll... I'll get you something." Rikku said when she recovered after a moment. Tidus smiled lightly and nodded his thanks, placing a hand over his stomach as she left; leaving me with the cute blonde in front of me. My thoughts drifted back to my first dream... The only time I've seen him without those gloves, and the weird shorts...

I shook my head. _Woah, woah, what the hell?! You don't even know if he's into guys like that! Oh god damn it, now he's looking at me._

"You okay?" He asked._ Shiiiiiiit... Why can't I resist blonde hair and blue eyes... Or green, like... SHIT!_

Great, now I can't even trust my own thoughts. I hate the turn my life has taken over the past week. "Uh, yeah..." I looked back to the door where Rikku left a moment ago. "Do me a favor, don't tell anyone... Rikku was in my dream."

Tidus' mouth hung open. "She was... You mean the threesome?"

I nodded, blood rushing to my cheeks, like when I was caught watching them. "Tell anyone, and I'll have to kick your ass."

He nodded his understanding just as Rikku came back out with a large tray of food. Tidus' stomach roared again. Her eyes widened. I chuckled, and he grimaced again, gratefully accepting the food and practically shoveling the food down his throat. After only a few mouthfuls, he starting choking. Rikku couldn't stop laughing, so I snuck her water pounch off of her waist (and trying not to accidentally on purpose touch her ass) while she was distracted, and handed it to Tidus, who guzzled a lot of it down quickly to stop choking. When she noticed, she looked at me like I had horns.

_Damnit... Blonde hair again, and green eyes? Great... And Al Bhed eyes are so cute..._ "I'm a skilled thief," I blurted, then blushed ever so lightly. Rikku chuckled. "Okay..." I smiled. "Relax, you'll never be on my hitlist as an assassin. Unlike some others, I have morals."

Tidus chuckled. "You told her you're one?"

I nodded, "Yeah, and she didn't respond _nearly_ as bad as you did." It was Tidus' turn to blush as Rikku giggled again.

As we stopped laughing, I turned to Rikku and whispered in her ear, "Can you keep another secret?"

She tilted her head, I could feel curiosity seeping in. She slowly nodded, knowing how serious I was.

I smiled lightly, before returning to her language. "Fyhd du ghuf fru fyc eh dnyd tnays?"[10]

"Fru?"[11]

I looked over at Tidus, hoping she would get the message without me saying it, as names didn't get translated. Thankfully, she understood.

"Res?"[12] I nodded. "Yhy... Ouin luiceh..."[13]

At those words, Rikku radiated shock, and looked a little disturbed; not that I could blame her.

"E... E caa... Yht fru fyc dra dreht?"[14] She asked.

_Damnit! She caught that part... No point in lying now, especially if she and Tidus start note-swapping._.. I gulped and hesitated before answering. "Famm... Oui, Rikku..."[15]

Now I sensed a great deal of emotions from the Al Bhed, some of which started becoming mine because of how deep they ran. Shock, anger and disgust that I dreamed of her and Tidus fucking her cousin; that I could understand. But I also felt gratitude. _Probably because I told her the truth._ Yet there was also a hint of... Curiosity. _Wait, what the fuck?_ That caught me off guard, especially when Rikku placed her hand over mine, making me jump slightly.

"Famm, du aylr rec ufh,"[16] She whispered, leaning closer and ever so closer, until her face was inches away from my own, and now I could _clearly_ see the mystifying green swirls in her eyes. I stole a quick glance just past her and saw Tidus asleep, his hand over his now-stuffed stomach. I smiled lightly and closed my eyes, leaning forward as I felt Rikku doing the same.

I tried my best to hide my flinch when our lips meant. I mean, I've had a couple boyfriends and girlfriends alike, but Rikku, right then and there, was my first kiss. I tried to hide the pleasant and happy churning in my stomach as we deepened the kiss. Besides, I'm a fighter, not a lover... Right? I may not remember much of my past, but my instinct told me that much. Either way, this was new to me, and I was enjoying every second of it.

"Jack..." She whispered when we broke the kiss. _How does she know my name? Did Tidus tell her?_ "Yes?"

"...Cunno..."[17] I barely heard her as my hand went to my stomach on instinct alone...

...And caught her punch. I grabbed her first that almost connected, then grabbed her other hand, just to be safe. I sighed and shook my head. "Rikku... Why?"

She stepped back, yet unable to shake my grip, and closed those jade eyes that I adored just as much as Tidus'... If not more. "You're sick."

I raised an eyebrow. _I don't feel ill... Then she must mean-_

"You dreamed of me and my _cousin_ doing it! How could you?!"

I sighed again. "How can I control what I dream? I don't know if anyone in Spira can, but I can't. I told you, I'm from Tellius, not Spira."

I was about to talk more, when the ship shook, like an earthquake going on underwater. _What the hell...? Is a volcano forming or something?_

I sensed another Al Bhed before he approached us... Or more accurately, the guard rail. He pointed overboard just as Tidus woke up. "Sin!"

At the shout, the three of us ran to the rail to look at the monster.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

The ship shook again, more violently this time. At the sight of Sin, I became oblivious to all else as visions flooded my mind. No, not visions... _Memories.._. They proved that most of what my murderous dream showed me was true. The only difference was that Volke didn't kill me; Sin sent me to Zanarkand. The longer I stood, staring at Sin, the more I remembered. I remembered being a hardcore video gamer as a child. I remembered becoming Volke's apprentice at the age of 16, then becoming a fully fledged assassin at 18. I remembered-

"Jack! Help!" Rikku's voice pulled me out of my reverie. I tore my gaze from Sin and saw her barely clinging onto the ship. I didn't see Tidus anywhere. _Then he must've fell... No! Rikku!_

It bothered me that I was falling for both of them, but I couldn't dwell on that now. I jumped to where she was clinging, and grabbed her wrists. She let go of the ship and clung to my hand. I wasn't that strong physically, but I had a sudden burst of super strength that helped me pull her back up, onto the ship. She kneeled, gasping for breath.

"Thank you, Jack..." She whispered. I nodded and smiled. "You're welcome."

She looked up at me and grabbed my neck, pulling me down and crashing our lips together. As I kissed back, my hand snaked up her sides and cupped her face.

The ship shook again, even _more_ violently, ruining our moment and pulling us in opposite directions. I clung to the ship like Rikku was earlier. When she leaned over, I saw that I was too low for her to reach, and my grip was slipping.

"Jack! No!" She shouted. I looked at her sadly. "Rikku, this is our journey. We'll meet again. I promise."

"But, but..." She started, but I cut her off.

"I know we just met, but... Rikku... E muja oui. Bmayci, gaab so calnadc."[18] My hands slip, and I fell into the water, hitting my head on the ship as I did so, getting knocked out.

I heard one last sound from the Al Bhed woman I confessed to. "Jack... E muja oui."[19]

* * *

**Translations:**

[1]Hey! He is awake! [2]So jumpy... A fiend? [3]If I were a fiend, how would I know your language? [4]You are Rikku? [5]How do you know? [6]Long story, not that I remember all of it. I was attacked by Sin. [7]So, what do you want? [8]Private talk. I'll be fine, relax. [9]Fuck Yevon! The Al Bhed are right about Yevon, I think. [10]Want to know who was in that dream? [11]Who? [12]Him? [13] And... Your cousin... [14]I... I see... And who was the third? [15]Well... You, Rikku... [16]Well, to each his own. [17]...Sorry... [18]... Rikku... I love you. Please, keep my secrets. [19]Jack... I love you.

* * *

Wow! That was the longest thing I've ever written! 5,083 word count on that, dang! Anyway, if you didn't understand the Tellius references, and/or if you skipped the murder dream, then here's where you can find out: Volke is from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and its sequel Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. The OC was just 'from' the sequel, though. You guys know the deal: questions, comments/critique, requests (example, pairing requests), etc. Please leave a review/PM. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 2 - Luca (pt 1)

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while... Let's see, I already did the disclaimer for this story, _check_. Have the pairings for future chapters (possibly starting in this one) _check_. Oh yeah, that reminds me, **_ANNOUNCEMENT_**: this fic will eventually become a 5-part series, each part being a different world. Just for clarification, here's how it'll be:

Part 1: Fire Emblem (prequel)  
Part 2: Final Fantasy X (current)  
Part 3: classic Yu-Gi-Oh! (Battle City and/or Waking the Dragons, see below)  
Part 4: Kid Icarus  
Part 5: Final Fantasy XIII

Why am I saying this now? I'll explain it all at the end of this chapter. Chapter time!

* * *

I woke up with a splitting headache in a large town. I stood up and covered my forehead, then looked around.

_Where...am I?_ I winced as I recalled the memory torrent that assaulted me when I looked at Sin; but that made me realize that I actually recognize much of Spira, despite never being here before. As I looked around at all the fairly tall buildings, with a statue and small pond in the middle of the place, I knew where I was: Luca, the largest city in Spira, second only to the (now ruinous) city of Zanarkand.

I turned and saw a reception desk with a fairly skinny woman behind it. I walked over to her and opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off before I could start. "If you're going to watch Blitzball, go! The tournament's starting now!"

I blinked. "Who's in the first round?"

"Well there's the Luca Goers vs. Ronso Fangs, Kilika Beasts vs. Guado Glories, and Al Bhed Psyches vs. Besaid Aurochs...as if the Aurochs have a chance!" She laughed at her own comment. I gulped and ran in the other direction. _Son of a bitch..._

As I neared the bar, I stopped and waved at the two people in front of me. "Hey!"

Tidus and a girl turned around. As I looked in her miscolored eyes - one blue, one green - I recognized her as the same Yuna from my dream on Rikku's ship. _Shiiiit..._

"Jack!" Tidus waved back, smiling. "Where've you been the last three days, man?"

My eyes widened at his words. "Wait a second... I was knocked out, in Luca, for three days?!" I took a deep breath to calm my climbing nerves, then turned to the girl. I forced a smile. "Sorry, I'm a little on edge recently. I'm Jack." I made the traditional greeting of Spira, which she returned, her smile genuine. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yuna."

"Lady summoner," I said, reaching out my right hand. She looked confused, and I felt confusion behind her eyes to confirm it. I drew my hand back. "Sorry. I'm not from Spira, either." I glanced at Tidus, then back at Yuna. "Where I'm from, shaking each other's hands is a show of respect, and making a promise."

"Oh," Yuna whispered, reaching out her hand. I smiled softly as I shook it. As I did so, I noticed her fingers were slender. Just like Rikku's. Just like in the dream, when their hands were on my -

_STOP IT!_ It took a great deal of effort to not show my self-disgust about that dream. I turned to Tidus. "Isn't Blitzball starting? Why aren't you, of all people, a part of it?"

He shrugged. "My team can handle a round without me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Can they? How many years did they go without a single win? I want to say around 23 years?"

Tidus looked down. "Well, they're better this year. Besides," he looked back up at me. "Yuna says Auron is somewhere around here."

I closed my eyes, much to the confusion of Tidus and Yuna. "What're you...?" They started in unison.

I shook my head to cut them off. "I have something that's...rare, at least in my home world. I can sense other people, to a certain distance. The closer I am to someone emotionally, the greater the distance in which I can sense them, and pinpoint their location." I opened my eyes and turned to Tidus. "It's how I found you, after the...incident that sent you to Spira in the first place." I blinked as I sensed something. I knew it would happen, should I have not been here, but I couldn't word it as it was..._not yet, at least._ "I sense people with malicious intent, waiting to ambush Yuna, maybe kidnap her...or worse."

The summoner looked alarmed. "What do you mean, 'worse'? And who is it?"

I shook my head. _I...forgive me, Yuna._ "I can't say. I only sense that, if either of you go in there, it won't end well for Yuna." I looked her in the eye before I continued. "You do want to continue your pilgrimage, don't you? I mean, it's fine for me, either way."

Tidus looked at me suspisiously. "How do you know all of this? I only just found out, and I've been travelling with them since Besaid."

I shrugged. "I told you last week, in Zanarkand. I'm not from there, either, remember? I also said it on that ship...oh wait, sorry, I said that before you were 'rescued'. Anyway, I'm from a world called Tellius. Time runs a bit differently in every world. For instance, in Spira, time is a bit faster than I'm used to."

Yuna tilted her head. "Faster how?"

"Let's say three days in Spira would take the same time as seven days in Tellius." I replied simply and, sensing slowly but steady acceptance sneaking into both of them.

"I see..." Yuna started. "And you said that, if I go looking for Auron...?"

"She'll be kidnapped?" Tidus asked. I nodded confirmation, then the summoner sighed; the same disappointed sigh that Rikku had on the ship, when I refused to tell her and Tidus about my 'pleasant' dream. _Rikku..._ Just thinking about the Al Bhed's name made my heart ache. Although I never had this feeling before, at least not this bad, I knew what it was. I love Rikku more than I've ever loved anyone in an intimate way like this. I yearned to clutch my heart, to rip it out of my chest and scream until I was hoarse, scream until my love hears it and finds me and holds me.

I blinked the yearning away. That would not do. I am an assassin. While I'm much more in tune with my emotions than nearly any other assassin, I can and do hold those feelings at bay, despite the pain that often brings. I now felt like I was being ripped up inside.

_I've got to distract myself._ "Tidus," I said, turning my attention to the boy. "Auron will show up soon. Sooner than you think. I promise. Until then, enjoy yourself. Go Blitz, ace! Prove to the Goers and everyone else exactly what made you the star player of the Abes!" I raised my fist, as if in victory, then nodded. Yuna joined me in my pre-game cheer, and Tidus laughed lightly from the sight.

I sensed they were both lightening up, but I decided to help them out a little bit more. "Hey, Tidus."

"Hm?"

"Wanna make a friendly wager?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied. "What is it?"

"I'll bet anything that Yuna and I will cheer for the Aurochs louder than anyone else." I chuckled. He smirked. "Okay, what do I win if you don't?"

I shrugged. "That would be your call. But if we do cheer louder than the rest of the audience, then-"

"You two need to kiss!" Yuna interjected.

"-then we need to kiss...wait, what?" Both my and Tidus' jaw dropped as our brains registered what Yuna said. We turned to her as she giggled. "What? You said you'd bet anything!" She stated, then pouted.

_Okay, Yuna. That's a pretty weak attempt at fake pouting...at least make it look convincing? Wait a minute... Damnit! She really had us go there! Actually... I tried to hide my smirk as I thought of a certain blonde boy standing next to me, still jaw-dropped. Maybe now I can find out if he's into guys... Thanks, Yuna!_

"Well, no taking that back now," Tidus muttered, shock still in his voice. He reached out his hand, and I shook it. As if to further seal the deal, we both made the 'Spiran Greeting' as I once referred to it.

I sensed something stir in Tidus as we walked back to the stadium, though even I couldn't quite tell what it was... As we walked, I tried to break his feelings apart, so I could indicate exactly what it was that I sensed in him. It almost felt like a mix of things like shock, curiosity, eagerness, and worry; though I couldn't tell for certain.

I smiled at everything that happened since I woke up. It was my own, genuine smile; not joy or happiness that I felt from someone else that became my own. This was...difficult, to smile from my own joy, for a while now. The trip back to the Blitzball stadium was eerily quiet, but we carried a happy atmosphere, which I was extremely grateful for. When we finally arrived, we looked at a screen that hung down from the ceiling. The screen read a score of 3-2, Aurochs victorious.

"We did it! We're in the finals!" Yuna exclaimed, drawing the attention of a gothic-looking woman in front of us. Her black hair covered one of her crimson eyes, while the other looked at Yuna, silently asking, '_where did you go?!_' Her black dress barely covered her breasts. Not allowing my eyes to linger, I saw a strange doll with a red pom-pom sticking out of the top of its head, cradled in her arms. I gulped as I immediately knew who she was. She had quite a short fuse, and I didn't want to get on her bad side. Despite that, she was one of Yuna's guardians, like an older sister to the Lady Summoner, and an exceptional spellcaster. Perhaps solely because of the fact that she's a guardian, she is a part of the promise that I made to Rikku, Tidus and Auron.

When she stopped glaring at Yuna with that accussing, yet worried, look in her eye, her attention was drawn straight to me. "Who are you?" She demanded. I made the Spiran Greeting. "I'm Jack. You are?" I responded, even though I knew.

"...Lulu," she answered, then looked at Tidus. "Friend of yours?"

He nodded. Lulu returned her piercing, disbelieving gaze to me. "I don't trust him."

_Likely a wise choice...I _am_ an assassin, after all._ The eye I could see narrowed, as if she heard that. _Oh, shit! Her magic doesn't allow her to read my thoughts, does it? I truly hope not, for her sake more than mine._

Whether or not she could read my mind, her focus was averted by Yuna. "Relax," she said. I would've tried to hide from Lulu, if not for the summoner's next words. "I trust him."

Silence; an uneasy silense followed her words, during which I sensed Tidus slip away, toward the Auroch's locker room. I sensed Lulu's growing distrust of me; her need to protect Yuna, as is her duty as guardian. I also sensed Yuna's anxiety rising by the second. Even with my mental barriers as high as possible, I still wanted to run away from the two near me...another urge I wasn't used to. _Damnit, Spira killed my comfort zone..._

Lulu glared at me one more time before walking away, muttering something about watching the tournament.

When she left, my legs felt like jelly as my knees buckled. Yuna placed a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I gulped. Twenty-one years now, and I haven't told a soul. I can't do it anymore. I looked around to make sure no one was around. Fortunately, everyone was watching the game, whether sitting in the audience or the bar to watch. I stood up and shook my head. "I don't know. Yuna, thank you." I looked at her confused eyes as I specified. "Thank you for trusting me. Now, can I return the favor; can I trust you?"

"Of course," she replied, forcing a smile despite her thinly veiled confusion. I looked her in the eye...those mismatched eyes...

_Son of a bitch..._ One blue eye, one green eye, and blonde hair. The only three things that I'm a sucker for, all wrapped up in one delightful package. "Yuna, everyone has their secrets. Mine have been kept for twenty-one years today. I've never even considered telling a soul. As a sign of trust, I'll tell you a few, if you want to hear them."

She tilted her head. "Um...only if you feel comfortable telling me." I smiled at her words, mentally cheering: Yuna has the same heart that I remember her having in, what I once believed to be, the land of make-believe. I had no intention of letting that heart, that trust, be taken advantage of. "I'll tell you, on the sole condition that you never tell anyone."

She nodded. "Of course. Secrets don't do good when they're out in the open." I lowered my barriers and sensed that the summoner was eager to prove her trustworthiness. I knew, from both past knowledge and her feelings, that she wouldn't ever tell anyone else without my permission.

I took a deep breath. Now my secrets are mine no longer. "Alright. I trust you, but let's just say, people would kill to know an assassin's secrets."

Her eyes widened. "An assassin...?" I sensed fear, as I did when I told Tidus and Auron, back in Zanarkand. Yet her fear wasn't nearly as deep as theirs, so it was fairly easy for me to block out. I chuckled. "Oops... Well, there's one of my secrets." I sighed. "Yuna, there's a couple of things that I just can't keep to myself anymore, yet there's no one else that I trust enough to keep the secrets. I hope you know just how much I'm trusting you."

She nodded slowly. "I understand. Any secrets you tell me will be mine to keep. But, don't you trust Tidus?"

I laughed lightly. "I trust him with my life...just not with my secrets. He isn't exactly the best secret-keeper."

She shrugged. "Alright." As if to seal the deal of her promise, she made the Spiran Greeting as a sign of both respect and trust. I smiled again and returned the gesture.

"Thank you. Well, as you now know, I'm an assassin. However, I vow that neither you nor my guardians shall ever be on my hitlist." I replied. I then sensed her fear back down and slowly begin to vanish, replaced by relief. She smiled and nodded her thanks, and I continued. "Furthermore, I have a very...unique ability. I can sense and read a person's emotions, easier than I can read a book."

She gulped. "Really?"

I nodded, never taking my emerald eyes off of her mismatched ones. "I don't believe in trickery or deceit, unless absolutely necessary for survival. That's something else that makes me different from other assassins. That, and that I have morals, and people that will never be on my hitlist, of course." I smiled to lighten the modd, but kept a serious tone.

She smiled slowly, and I sensed light gratitude from her. "Is there...anything else that you want to share?"

_She's obviously eager for more... Not that I could blame her. She wants to prove herself as trustworthy, and this is perhaps the best way with me. She figured that out quite quickly._ I smiled back, but gulped, extremely nervous about my next secret. "One last thing. At least for now, this is my greatest secret. You ready?"

She nodded in eagerness, then I took one more deep breath. "I...I'm in love..."

Her brows furrowed in obvious confusion. "No offense, but I don't understand... What makes that your greatest secret?"

I chuckled nervously. "A couple reasons. First of all, where I'm from, it's...weird to confess love, especially when you're in a land constantly consumed by war, corruption and betrayal, like Tellius is."

"Tellius..." She said slowly. "That's your home, right?"

I nodded. "An entire continent, shrouded in war. Second, I'm an assassin, remember? If anyone, especially my enemies, ever want to get to me, they know I'm too skilled to be killed easily. The easiest way is to get to those whom I love.

She nodded then looked down, breaking the nonexistant staring contest. "I see... Will you tell me who you're in love with?"

I closed my eyes for a moment. "That's the other reason... I'm in love with two people I should not be in love with!" My voice rose with each word, and I was exceedingly grateful that no one else was around. "Yuna, I...I wish to become your guardian, please?"

She was taken aback and didn't bother to hide it. "Where did that come from?"

I shrugged and kneeled, opening my eyes. "I have a few reasons."

"Like?"

Now I had to choose my words with even more care. "Well, first and foremost, I want to protect you. Second, I want to get payback on Sin. That...that monster destroyed Tellius and Zanarkand, not to mention everything he did in Spira. Third, I would like to be near the three, I mean two people that I love." _Damnit! Why did I say three?!_

Now she looked at me accussingly. "Three? Didn't you say two?"

I shook my head, trying to think of an excuse without lying. "I said two that I shouldn't be loving..."

"Oh... Well, I accept, if you tell me something first."

"Name it." I'm going to regret saying that, aren't I?

She winked. "Tell me the names of the three people you like." _God damn it!_ As was the case with Rikku and Tidus when I woke up, apparently three days ago on the Al Bhed ship, a string of curses flooded my mind. I shook my head to clear it, realizing that I haven't answered in ten seconds, which was very unusual for me. I sighed. _Well, this is it..._ "Tidus...your cousin, Rikku...and you, Yuna..."

If she was shocked when she heard I was an assassin, it was nothing to how she felt now. My barriers shot back up extremely high, but I was still about to share her shock. She took a small step back. "W...wow..."

I stood up, closed my eyes, and turned around, trying to hide my tears of self-disgust. "I understand if you've changed your mind on letting me be a guardian. Who would trust an assassin, let alone allow him to be so close to someone as important as you, right? I get that all the time, so I won't be surprised. Nor will I hold you to your word if you change your mind. I guess I'll just be going, then." I started to leave, but stopped when I felt Yuna's hand wrapped around my wrist, preventing me from leaving. Again, I felt how thin her fingers were, like in that dream...

_ENOUGH!_ I shouted mentally at myself, tears of self-hate starting to flow down my cheek. I hate this. I hate how I've fallen only for those how I can't be with, not just because I'm an assassin... Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, Sothe, Micaiah...Rolf... The image from my other dream, seeing Rolf covered in so much blood, Peshkatz in his back as he tried to protect Mist, filled my head. _I can't stand this. I'm an assassin, damn it! I shouldn't be in love at all, let alone with them! I swore to protect them, always. Three of them, I failed in my promise... The other three, now I doubt I'll have a chance... SOMEONE END THIS PAIN!_

The strength and desperation in my mental plea made me want to take a weapon, any weapon, and plunge it straight into the depths of my own heart. The tears of self-disgust and self-hate now cascaded down my face, like a small waterfall.

"Don't go," I vaguely heard Yuna behind me, pulling me out of my reverie. "I didn't say that."

"You were probably thinking it." I don't know about Yuna, but in my own ears, my voice had an unusual icy tone. She didn't seem to notice. My barriers were so high by now, so that I didn't feel her emotions on top of my own.

Yuna pulled on my wrist slightly, just enough to turn me around and take me off balance, my lips crashing onto hers. I was severely shocked by what's happening, and even Yuna herself didn't expect to do what she just did. We broke the kiss quickly, and I blushed as I noticed we were still holding hands. I tried to pull away in embarassment, but the girl's grip was stronger than I thought, and I tripped again, this time landing in a hug with Yuna.

"You...really accept?" I asked, unwilling to believe it. The Lady Summoner nodded, thought I could barely see it, when her head was burried in my neck. "Yes," she whispered, "I accept."

When we pulled apart, Yuna finally let go of my hands. _Wait, she was holding my hands? When did she let go of my wrist?_

I looked down as my lips tightened. Yuna noticed right away. "Something wrong?" I sensed a gentle concern coming from my companion. _I'm so glad no one else has my gift..._ I shrugged. "I'm just... Wait, what do you want?" I turned my head to show that the last part was directed not at Yuna, but at the two new arrivals I sensed behind me.

"Where is Kimahri?" A semi-gruff voice responded. I blinked._ Of course it would be them..._ "He's somewhere else. I don't feel like saying."

I've never met this Kimahri...yet, but I knew he was another of Yuna's guardians. A 'blue Indian tiger' as an old friend of mine once referred to him. Properly, a Ronso.

"You hornless human! Tell Biran where Kimahri is!" The same voice responded. "Hornless! Hornless!" A second voice taunted, only a slightly different pitch in his voice.  
Yuna's eyes windened, then closed. When they opened, I saw a fire in her eyes, and I understood it. The horn was a natural part of a Ronso's body, it's what set them apart from tigers, and the other races of Spira, like humans and Al Bhed. As such, 'hornless' was the single biggest insult in the Ronso dictionary. _The fire in Yuna's eyes...interesting, but dangerous...to herself more than anyone._

"Kimahri is -" Yuna began, but I cut her off with a finger placed on her lips. I shook my head. "Please, let me," I whispered. She closed her eyes, then nodded. I could sense anger radiating from her, though thinly veiled and bottled up. Truth be told, it frightened me. Anger didn't fit Yuna very well, and I found out the hard way that bottling up your emotions doesn't do any good at all.

I turned to the two Ronso's who were taunting me. Both were much taller than me, and far more muscular; one even moreso than the other. The taller one, Biran, was a darker shade of blue than Yenke, the shorter one. Both had small, golden eyes, and a single sharp horn jetting out from their foreheads.

I smirked and reached into the back of my belt. Even though I was thrown off of Rikku's ship before I could retrieve my weapon pouch, I carried a backup, just in case: a metal gauntlet with small spikes on the knuckles, which I now slipped over my hand.

Biran charged me wildly with a shout. I unceremoniously pushed Yuna out of harm's way, while at the same time ducking the Ronso's hook punch, connecting with my own metal-covered punch. As the spikes sunk into his fur, I rotated my hand, causing the gauntlet's spikes to rip through pieces of his skin.

Biran doubled over and fell to one knee, clutching his gut. Yenke let loose a loud warcry and ran at me, aiming a kick at my legs; a kick that would easily shatter bones...

...If I were hit. With speed almost unnatural to Spira, I dashed behind Yenke and sent a metal-fisted punch directly toward his spine. He turned and caught my wrist and squeezed. I felt the bone snap in two places as I cied out in pain. He let go, and I clutched my wrist like an unborn child. I heard a grunt, and saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

When I turned, I saw Biran getting back up.

I started to panic, but the pain in my wrist was already dissipating. I removed and dropped the gauntlet and felt, more than saw, a faint green glow around my wrist. I glanced at Yuna. She was clutching her shoudler, but smiled, put a finger to her lips, and winked with her blue eye. I understood.

She healed me. I smiled and blinked my thanks. She nodded, and my attention returned to the Ronsos, my smile quickly becoming a smirk. I decided to stall them a little, while looking for potential weaknesses. We started circling each other, resembling hungry but patient wolves, waiting for the opportune moment to move in for the kill.

_Both are far larger and taller than me. Biran is the slowest. I'm a bit faster than Yenke, but not fast enough..._

_Well if I have only a small speed advantage, I'll have to utilize that. Well that would keep me in the game for a while, but would do nothing else. I can't win if I can't do any damage. That gauntlet gives me a power advantage, but slows me down too much against Yenke. Damnit, if only I had my knives, then this would've been over a long time ago. Oh well..._

I started studying their bodies for anything I can use against them. Volke taught me that, if I can't outfight them, outthink them. Find their strength and turn it into their weakness._ Volke, I will not fail you now._ Not for the first time, my eyes rested on their horns as we still circled each other. The horn is the mark of a Ronso, the center of their pride, hence the depth of the insult, 'hornless'. Nor would those horns be strictly for decoration. I wouldn't be surprised if either of them tried to impale me on it. Well, maybe not. That might stain the horns... _Wait, that's it!_

My smirk deepened as I finally found a potential weakness._ If I'm not mistaken, that could prove extremely fatal to them._

They didn't give me any more time to form my strategy, though. Biran charged me with a savage war cry. In response, I jumped to the side, making sure to grab Biran's horn as I did so. As I landed, I yanked the horn to the side, almost breaking his neck as a result. Just as I did so, I sensed Yenke charging behind me. Without letting go of Biran's horn, I turned and saw him making a roundhouse kick. I simply pulled Biran by the horn, which took the full brunt of the kick, and cracked.

"Biran!" Yenke shouted. I took the moment of distraction to grab Yenke's horn as well. I then yanked both Ronso's by the horns, so their faces were only inches away from my own. My smirk returned to normal despite the horrible odor of Ronso breath.

"Hornless, and proud," I whispered. At such close distance, I knew they could both hear me even over their grunts of pain and discomfort. "Your horns and Ronso pride are your weakness. I said I'm not going to tell you where Kimahri is. I always keep my word. Now leave us." With that, I let go of their horns and took two steps back, matching their glare.

When they left, growling at me like savage animals, I turned back to Yuna, my smirk returning to a regular smile. "Thanks for healing me, Yuna. I owe you," I said. "And sorry for shoving you like that earlier." I saw a small bruise on her arm, where she clutched it earlier.

Yuna noticed my glance. "I got pushed into a statue," she answered, covering it with her sleeve.

I blinked. "Sorry about that. I'm not used to having allies, that's all. I guess I'll need to work on that if I'm going to be a good guardian."

The summoner giggled at that. "That would help." I laughed lightly, too.

"The score is tied, 3-3! We are heading into overtime!" We faintly heard the commentator shout. My jaw dropped. "We forgot the game!" I shouted. _Damn those Ronsos!_

Yuna nodded, then we started running to the stadium.

* * *

Well, that's that. Obviously, Luca lasted quite a bit longer than that, but since the chapter was _so long_, I decided to break it up into two parts.

Oh, as for the list of 5 parts at the beginning, here's why I'm saying this. For a few reasons. First off (and hopefully obvious), so you know where to find the rest of the series when this part is finished. Furthermore (and most importantly), I'm holding a poll, between PMs and reviews, to decide the pairings in the other parts (or if there should be no pairings at all), which will ultimately decide who the OC teams with. In FFXIII, this will also decide who the OC follows when the gang splits up near the beginning (Hope and Lightning, Vanille and Sazh, or Snow). Finally, the poll will decide whether the Yu-Gi-Oh fic will be in the Battle City Tournament, the Waking the Dragons series, or both. So start reviews now. Oh, and of course, **please don't forget to actually review the chapter as well!** Thank you, rant over.


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